Sven got up from his seat, still smirking. It's hard to believe that I just saw him almost die. He was perfectly fine now, though.
"C'mon Rayne, I think you just need some fresh air," he said and walked past me, towards the door.
I got up and looked at Agatha, who looked like she still had something to say but decided to stay quiet.
I didn't know what else to do so I just gave her a small smile and walked out.
What they want from me? What?
I saw Sven leave the building so I walked as fast as I could to reach him. The pain in my back had subsided, just the soreness remained.
"I saw you in a dream," I said. I don't know what else to call it but, now that I'm awake, it feels more and more like one.
It just felt so real when I was in it. Does Sven know? And why did Agatha say that?
I saw his smirk widen at my words.
"What did you see?" he asked.
"You almost died," I replied.
He shrugged. "Nothing new."
I sighed. What's he not telling me?
"It seemed real." I said. "Usually when I dream, I know that I'm dreaming."
He looked at me sideways as we walked to I don't know where.
"So you had an actual dream for once?" He said.
"No. It still seemed, different." I said.
"And where are we going?"
I could see we were walking towards a smaller building which I hadn't noticed before.
It was getting dark. About the same time when I reached here yesterday, just before my first test.
"Are we going for my second test?" I asked him.
"No," he said.
"Then where to? And when is my test? You said it'll be in three hours," I said.
"Relax Rayne. We need to talk. In private," he said.
"And also, I'm starving."
I looked at him to see him looking back at me with that same smile.
"What is it? Stop acting so weird," I said a little self-conscious.
He just shook his head and entered the building ahead of me. The immediate interior was similar to the bigger building I had just left, but the doors to the rooms were further apart. I'm guessing these used to be general quarters, and are bigger than just rooms.
My theory was confirmed when Sven opened the door at the far end of the corridor, motioning for me to get in.
In here was a small studio-flat-like situation. It was obviously redone, as the feel of it seemed very modern.
I walked into a living room, which was adjacent to an open kitchen. Walking further in I saw a full-sized bed pushed opposite the kitchen, completing the L-shaped flat. I was sure there had to be a bathroom next to the bedroom area, but I didn't get to explore much more of the tiny but cozy living space.
"You live here," I said to him. It was obvious. The apartment screamed Sven. I couldn't figure out a specific color scheme, but the look was sophisticated yet modest.
"Wasn't it obvious? How does breakfast for dinner sound?" he asked me as I sat down in the living room.
"Sounds great," I replied. I looked at him pouring some pre-made waffle batter into the iron.
"Stop smiling like that! Why're you smiling like that?" I said genuinely creeped out by his constant smiling.
"You'd do anything for me," was all he said, as his smile grew wider.
I was confused for a second before I realized what he meant.
He didn't stop there.
"You've got yourself in quite a pickle now though. You could have at least given them a couple of options. 'Anything' is a very wide bandwidth."
The dream. It wasn't a dream. But it was something like one.
And he was there. He was actually there. It felt real. Was it real?
I got up from the sofa and walked towards the kitchen where I saw Sven turn the waffle iron.
He picked out a couple of fruits from his refrigerator and then, just as casually, came towards me. He put his arms around my neck, tilting his head slightly, and released the lock of the gold necklace.
He took my hand and placed the pendant in it.
"Open it," he said.
I looked at the gold sphere and then at him, only to find his back as he cut some fruit.
"I don't understand Sven," I said.
He set two plates on the counter, and placed the neatly cut fruits on each before returning to me.
He held the sphere, top and bottom, and twisted it slightly. The sphere separated into two halves and a pale yellow powder slipped into my hand. He emptied the contents of the small pendant on my palm before closing it again.
"Cloveroot. Of course, it's magic," he said, placing fresh waffles on our plates.
"Is this, a drug? Did you drug me?" I asked him incredulously.
I saw him chuckle as he carried the tray of breakfast-dinner and syrup towards the living room. I followed him as he took a seat on the sofa.
"I literally just told you. It's magic. We get our Cloveroot from the forest faeries. Just a tiny amount is enough," he said, already eating.
"Enough for what, exactly?" I asked, still not touching my food.
"Will you eat the damn waffle before it gets cold?" he said almost angrily with his mouth half-full.
"I can tell you enjoy keeping me in the dark," I said, anger evident in my voice.
He gave me his brilliant smile in return.
"You were there then? In the dream?" I asked.
"It wasn't a dream. It was a subdued state of mind. As rogues we don't have the ability to create mindlinks. But magic helps to get the next best thing," he said.
"Cloveroot allows a mental bond between supernaturals in the vicinity. Jedrek took control of the setting, which is why you saw what you saw," he said, continuing between mouthfuls of waffle.
The words "mental bond" stuck out to me.
"Was that the test then? The mental part of the initiation?" I asked him.
"Yes," he said.
Relief ran through me, and I took a deep breath before I dug into my own plate.
"But the test isn't over yet," he said.
He watched me, amused, as my fork stopped midway to my mouth.
"What? You thought you could get out of it just like that? A deal's a deal Rayne."